A﻿TRANSIENT city, marvelously fair,—﻿Humane, harmonious, yet nobly free,—﻿She built for pure delight and memory.
At her command, by lake and garden rare,
Pylon and tower majestic rose in air,﻿And sculptured forms of grace and symmetry.﻿Then came a thought of God, and, reverently,—
"Let there be Light!" she said; and Light was there.

O miracle of splendor! Who could know﻿That Crime, insensate, egoist and blind,﻿﻿Destructive, causeless, caring but to smite,﻿Would in its dull Cimmerian gropings find
A sudden way to fill those courts with woe,﻿And swallow up that radiance in night?